Mermaid Project
by Lilium00
Summary: [AU, Merman!Evan] Sent on a mission to investigate a lab that had been secretly conducting human experimentation, Giorgio found and saved a mermaid.
1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

[Merman!Evan]  
Inspired by noodlebirdie and June Ellie's conversation about a mermaid AU.  
Human experimentation setting idea by June.  
Sounds super fun because I've never thought of approaching a mermaid AU that way, so I took it and developed it into this because she said I can XDDD

Warning for being occasionally macabre.  
Also, this will probably be episodic rather than have a plot.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:**

This is a work of fiction and has no connection to any military or law enforcement agencies. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any trademarks appearing in this work are the property of their respective owners.

* * *

 **【Mermaid Project】**

 **【Prologue】**

 _Hidden labs, Geneva, Switzerland 14:21_

Following a trail of unsolved mysterious disappearances all over Europe had led to the discovery of a hidden laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. According to the intel provided by VSSE field operatives Alan and Wesley, the lab had been conducting illegal human experimentation to create biological weapons, led by a scientist known only by the alias of 'Dr. Frankenstein'.

Most of the kidnapping victims being children, the local authorities and the VSSE had decided to take him down immediately. For that, they had assigned Giorgio, one of their top solo agents, to infiltrate the facility with the help of the Swiss Armed Forces. The mission's objective was to capture Dr. Frankenstein and destroy all the biological weapons that he had created.

As expected of Giorgio, the mission had gone mostly smoothly, aside from the fact that Dr. Frankenstein shot himself in the head the moment he knew that he had lost.

Afterwards, led by Giorgio, the Swiss soldiers had gone down to the lower levels of the lab in search of the reported biological weapons. However, upon reaching their destination in the dark, maze-like building, they found things so inhuman that they had been shocked to the core.

Cut-off body parts of humans and animals kept in storage, conjoined bodies on operation tables twisted in unnatural ways, limbless torsos kept in cages, giant tubes filled with preserved creatures that were half-man and half-beast, corpses of deformed failed experiments, as well as various other monstrosities.

Every creature in the room welcomed the newcomers with either extreme aggression or extreme fear. They didn't seem to have any humanity left in their soulless eyes as they took after the behavior of whichever animal they had been fused with, scratching and biting at the iron bars of their cages. The disturbing view caused nausea in all those present.

"Destroy everything. Burn down that lab!"

Enraged by Dr. Frankenstein's actions, it was the immediate order that was given by the higher-ups. Giorgio and the soldiers agreed that these monsters should not be left to roam free, and death was probably the only thing left in this world that could end their despair and misery.

On the upper floor, Dr. Frankenstein's body had a sick grin on his face even in deathーthe grin of a man who had accomplished his goals and was satisfied that he had lived his life to the fullest, dying with no regrets.

* * *

 _Dr. Frankenstein's Notes_

 _24/8/1991 [Mermaid Project]_

As I've said before, we're basically trying to make a whole new 'race' of people. My hypothesis that young children would be the best to experiment on has proved to be true so farーtheir bodies are still in a developmental stage and will therefore accept our cellular modifications and new body parts much more easily than adults.

Having come to a level where we can at least create hybrids that survive up to a few years after their fusion, I've decided that my next project will be a mermaid. (I've always been fascinated by them and wanted to see one!)

Unfortunately, all the girls we currently have were used up to create lamias, sirens, sphinxes and harpies. Time is of the essence though, so I've had to pick one of the boys. After looking through our captives and running them through compatibility tests, I've decided that 10-year-old Evan Bernard will do. (He has such angelic features and I was told that he came from a fisherman's family. How sweet! I'll make sure that I do him justice and turn him into a beautiful being.)

For the fish half, I'm thinking of maybe using a bottlenose dolphin, the reason being that dolphins are mammals and will most likely have a better chance of fusing successfully with us humans than your average fish.

Either way, this will be our 81st project. Can't believe that we've made it this far! What progress!

 _5/12/1991 [On Subject 81]_

We've successfully completed the fusion stage of the mermaid project. Unlike our other experiments which had behaved in an entirely beast-like manner after their fusion, Subject 81 seems to have retained his human side, maintaining high levels of self-awareness and brain activity.

I'd say that I'm quite impressed! Is it because dolphins are intelligent creatures? We'll continue monitoring him and see how things go from here.

* * *

 **【Meeting 1】**

 _VSSE HQ 16:14_

Giorgio put the reports down with a sigh, almost not believing his eyes. It turned out that Dr. Frankenstein hadn't been making biological weapons, but was instead experimenting on humans to satisfy his sick needs as a mad scientist.

Even though the mission was over, Giorgio had decided to pore over the scientist's notes, just in case they could shed some new light on their investigations. Aside from that, he had another major reason to be interested in themーin front of him was the VSSE HQ's wide swimming pool, now housing a 23-year-old Subject 81, Evan Bernard.

"Giorgioooo~! Come and play with me, won't you?" Evan laughed joyfully, throwing a light beachball that the VSSE had given him towards Giorgio. It bounced harmlessly off the top of Giorgio's head, landing and rolling away on the tiled floors. Giorgio sighed again.

"Coming," he said, picking up the beachball and walking over to the edge of the pool, throwing it back at Evan.

The ball flying over his head, the merman playfully swam after it, his tail glistening in the water. Watching him, Giorgio thought back to the events at Dr. Frankenstein's lab a few days ago.

The command was to destroy everything in the lab, and the soldiers were ready to do just that. However, one creature had stuck out so clearly from the rest. It was Evan, being the only one of Dr. Frankenstein's creations who was capable of speech and retained some sense of humanity. He had hidden away fearfully in his tank, begging for his life.

"Killing this one would be like killing a civilian!" Giorgio had insisted aggressively that day, "He's a victim and I request that you spare him!"

After a lot of mess and persistent debates among the higher-ups, they had eventually agreed to let Evan live, provided that he stayed within the VSSE HQ, as letting him back out into the world might cause a panic. Afraid of people after his traumatic experiences in the labs, Evan himself had no intention of leaving either. They had lent him the HQ gym's swimming pool to live in for now, while they decided where they could build him a more private tank.

Giorgio sat down at the edge of the pool, dipping his legs into the water. Evan swam over to him excitedly, folding his arms over Giorgio's lap. Giorgio brushed the wet hair out of Evan's face.

"Evan... Aren't you lonely here?" He asked. Evan shook his head.

"I have you, and that's enough," he said confidently. "I think you're the first person who's been nice to me in... I dunno, 13 years?"

"..." Giorgio had a sympathetic look in his eyes as he continued the conversation. Having been the one to rescue Evan, he felt responsible for him.

"Hey, tell me if you ever need anything, alright? I'll do my best to get it for you," he offered.

"Giorgio! Being so nice?" Evan laughed. "But _euh..._ I can't think of anything. To tell you the truth, I'm currently living such a comfortable life already, compared to my time at that lab. I don't think I really need anything else..."

"Is that so?" Giorgio asked, leaning back a little to take a good look at his new friend. "Then let me ask. Are you... happy?"

"...?"

That question seemed to have struck Evan somewhere uncomfortable. He remained quiet, avoiding Giorgio's gaze.

"Well, umm..."

It suddenly hit him that he had forgotten what happiness was, having been locked away in the labs for so long. Bitter memories of how scary things had been began to crawl back. The scientists had killed his parents and kidnapped him. In the labs, he had seen things that a child was not meant to see, before falling victim to the heinous experiments himself. He shivered, suddenly afraid for his life again.

"Evan."

Evan gasped as Giorgio's voice pulled him back, his savior's firm, comforting hand resting on his shoulder.

"It's okay. Look at me," Giorgio said with reassurance, "I'm here with you and you're safe, alright? Sorry about that."

"..." Calming down, Evan shook his head. "No, it's not your fault."

"Well... I guess that's one thing we can work on, then," Giorgio said, seemingly having decided on something.

"...?"

"Let's see how much I can cheer you up while you're here!"

And so began Giorgio's personal quest.


	2. Part II

**Author's Note:**

\- Originally thought that this will have a tragic ending, but after poking at the ideas for a bit, it looks better if I keep this light and happy. Rejoice for having narrowly avoided death, dear Evan :p (Took time because I had to rewrite this entire chapter to make those adjustments.)  
\- Introduced a new structure in this chapter, so I just labeled Giorgio & Evan's first conversation in the previous chapter as 'Meeting 1'. Planning to have a total of around 10 meetings. Hoping that they don't sound choppy x'D

* * *

 _Dr. Frankenstein's Notes_

 _9/1/1992 [Bottlenose Dolphin Behavior]_

\- Lives in groups in warm oceans. Adult males live mostly alone or in small groups.  
\- Communicates through burst-pulsed sounds, whistles, and body language.  
\- Normally rises to the surface to breathe two to three times per minute, but can remain submerged for up to 20 minutes.  
\- Eats fish, shrimps, squid, mollusks, and cuttlefish.  
\- May exhibit altruistic behavior towards other animals, but can also behave aggressively towards other males during mating season, sharks, and smaller dolphins.  
\- Sometimes shows curiosity towards humans.

* * *

 **【Meeting 2】**

"Vision and hearing are alright, but blood pressure's a little low and you're quite underfed. It'll be nice to eat properly and have some exercise," Dr. Victor Lavenza explained kindly to Evan, who was sitting at the edge of the pool among his medical equipment.

Victor was a leading scientist and doctor of the VSSE, assigned to monitor Evan's health and ensure his full recovery. He was to give Evan a checkup at least once a week until his health stabilized.

"Thank you," Giorgio said, standing next to both Evan and Victor with folded arms, watching the checkup.

Evan nodded lightly as well. Giorgio noted the young man's obvious nervousness as he sat among all the medical apparatus. Evan hadn't spoken a word since the checkup started, having refused to even have a checkup if Giorgio wasn't around. Giorgio put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Will that be all?" Giorgio asked Victor.

"Yes. I'm a little worried about one thing, though," Victor said as he tidied his things, "Our diagnosis is set to the standards of an average 'human'. At the moment, there's no way we can tell if Mr. Bernard's body functions the same way as us, unless..."

"Unless...?" Giorgio asked.

"Unless you let us keep him in the VSSE labs for awhile, so we can monitor and study how different he is," he said, before looking at Evan with interest, "Would Mr. Bernard be okay with that? It's for his own good."

Giorgio felt Evan hold tightly onto his leg, shifting quite uncomfortably. So Giorgio answered for him.

"Sorry, Dr. Lavenza. I think we'll keep him here for now."

"Heh, alright," Victor said, "In that case, keep a close eye on him and call me if he starts feeling unwell, would you? I'll be in the labs as usual."

Finished with gathering his things, Victor excused himself politely and left. Evan relaxed, looking up at Giorgio.

"You stood up for me!" He exclaimed happily.

"You were shaking like a leaf," Giorgio joked, laughing a little with Evan before continuing.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? Thanks for agreeing to have a checkup. Now I can at least be sure that you're not half-dead."

"Hehe..." Evan scratched his head, feeling a little guilty for having made Giorgio worry.

"Since you've done your best, I got you something," Giorgio said, heading over to his bag that was lying on a chair.

"...?" Evan looked at him curiously. Giorgio walked back to him with two lunchboxes.

"You said that they've been feeding you only raw fishes in the labs. Thought that you might as well have some proper food, so I made you my signature dish."

Evan gasped with excitement. "You can cook?! What is it? What is it?"

"Lasagna," Giorgio replied, opening one of the lunchboxes to show the freshly made cuisine inside. "Guaranteed to be tasty enough to put any other top-level chef to shame."

Evan's eyes shone brightly. He felt as though he had just gone from rags to riches. How glad he was to have Giorgio around.

* * *

 **【Meeting 3】**

Despite being quite busy with work, Giorgio did his best to make some time to see Evan consistently, making sure that he was well-provided with his daily needs. It took awhile, but Evan slowly managed to adjust to his new life. He seemed to be excited whenever Giorgio showed up.

"I don't think I can live without you!" Evan laughed.

"Oh, come now, Evan, I'm pretty sure you can," Giorgio said, sitting at the edge of the pool. "Read in the reports that you were an independent kid before they caught you. That, and you were quite extroverted with a lot of friends."

Giorgio thought about that last point for a moment. From what he had heard from the other agents, Evan certainly wasn't keen on meeting anyone else, diving and hiding away in the deeper parts of the pool whenever someone came to check on him. Had his captors traumatized him badly enough to flip his personality entirely? Feeling a little worried, Giorgio decided to pry a little.

"You said that you're okay with having just me, but you're actually feeling a little lonely, aren't you? Being an extrovert and all."

"That's..." Evan replied, his voice sounding a little defensive, "That's different now."

"Don't you want more friends?"

"Giorgio, stop that," Evan insisted. He swam a little away, folding his arms and turning his back on Giorgio. Giorgio let him be for awhile, before calling out to him.

"Evan," he said, holding out a hand to him.

Evan didn't reply.

Giorgio called him again. Knowing that Giorgio was just worried, Evan sighed and swam back, taking Giorgio's hand. He held onto it without looking up at him, a sad expression on his face.

"You're scared, aren't you?" Giorgio asked.

"..." Evan stayed silent for awhile, before nodding wordlessly. Giorgio smiled at him gently.

"Well, let me tell you. We're all nice people here and no one's going to hurt you," he reassured him, "If you don't mind trying to take the leap, I'll be there to help you along the way."

"Giorgio..." Evan said with hesitance. Even so, he didn't have the heart to turn down Giorgio's kindness and efforts, so he trusted him and agreed.

"Alright."

* * *

 **【Meeting 4】**

Alan and Wesley were amongst the most flexible agents when it came to making friends and new contacts. Giorgio had worked with them on several occasions and knew them well, so it wasn't surprising that they were the ones he turned to for help.

When Alan and Wesley arrived at the pool, they found Giorgio standing there, but Evan was nowhere in sight.

"So... Where's the mermaid?" Alan asked, scanning the pool.

"Under you," Giorgio pointed out for him.

Alan and Wesley looked down, finding Evan curled up shyly underwater. Giorgio squatted down, sticking his hand into the water and beckoning.

"It's alright, Evan. Alan and Wesley are probably the nicest agents around. You can trust them."

Evan resurfaced slowly. Alan gave him a bright grin and greeted him.

"Hey there! My name's Alan and this is Wesley," he introduced, kneeling down.

"Evan," Evan introduced himself as well, smiling back nervously.

"You look great! Guess Giorgio's been treating you well," Alan said, starting up a conversation.

Despite his anxiety, Evan managed to make himself talk and keep up the conversation for awhile. But then somewhere in the middle, he trailed off and broke down, turning away with his face buried in his hands.

"Giorgio, I'm so sorry, I can'tー...!" He said, shaking his head.

"Whoa, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Alan said frantically. Wesley laughed.

"Oh, Alan, your dashing looks are enough to make _anyone_ nervous," he joked, "Now, if you'd step aside. I guess it's time to take out the secret weapon."

"Huh?" Alan looked at him with surprise. Giorgio raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Yes, Evan, look what I have for you," Wesley called out, reaching into his half-open bag.

Evan looked up at him cautiously, quite afraid of what might show up. Giorgio and Alan held their breaths. Then from his bag, Wesley pulled out a...

Cat.

"Meow~" The white cat made a sweet, musical meow, catching Evan's attention with its bell-like voice.

"My pet cat, Sir Lancelot," Wesley introduced, kneeling down and putting the cat at the edge of the pool, "He's pretty nice, and is one of those house cats who actually loves the water. You can pet him."

Lancelot meowed again cutely. Evan showed some interest, leaning against the edge of the pool and studying the cat. Lancelot walked towards him and nuzzled his face, before rubbing himself against Evan.

"Aww, he's so soft and cute," Evan said, petting the cat.

"Isn't he?" Wesley said proudly.

"Wesー... Wesley...!" Alan called out.

"Hm?"

"Can Iー Can I pet him, too? Can I?!" Alan asked, unable to mask his excitement. Wesley laughed, knowing how Alan always found his pets irresistible whenever he came to visit his house.

"Ask Evan!" Wesley told him with a grin.

Alan turned towards Evan immediately, looking at him with puppy eyes. Evan glanced at Giorgio, who simply smiled and nodded at him.

"Well... Of course!" Evan said, overcoming his nervousness and smiling back at Alan.

"Thank you!" Alan said happily.

Wesley and Giorgio watched the two bond over the cat. Looking at each other, they mentally gave each other a high five.

Mission complete!

* * *

 **【Meeting 5】**

After befriending Alan and Wesley, Evan seemed to have gained some confidence and became less reluctant to communicate with others. A few other agents dropped by in their free time, either out of curiosity, or simply because they were worried about whether he was doing well as a civilian living in the HQ. Having friendly interactions with all of them, Evan thought that people weren't so bad, after all.

Giorgio came for another visit after a particularly difficult mission, sitting down at the edge of the pool with a sigh.

"Giorgio," Evan called out worriedly as he swam towards him. "You look tired. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Giorgio replied, "Just need a bit of a break."

"You should rest in your room. You don't have to force yourself to come here just for me, you know...?" Evan said, looking away and feeling a little guilty.

"Well, being here and having someone to talk to makes me feel better," Giorgio replied.

"Hm? You really think so?" Evan asked, looking up at him again and feeling a little happy. Giorgio nodded. Evan smiled, before swimming away to play with his beachball.

"Still, though, I appreciate that you're helping me a lot, but... Don't you think that this is all just going in one direction? I don't want to just stay on the receiving end without ever giving anything back," he said, tossing the beachball at Giorgio.

"Well, I'm the one who said that I wanted to help you," Giorgio said, catching the ball with one hand before tossing it back, "I'm not particularly expecting anything in return."

Evan caught the ball. "It doesn't feel right for _me_ , though. I feel like I'm just freeloading on everything. You've gotta have something I can help with!" He insisted, throwing the ball back.

Giorgio caught it, holding it for awhile as he looked up at the ceiling and thought. "I don't know. What can you do for me from inside this pool?" He threw the ball back at Evan.

Evan caught it and held it, thinking hard. Giorgio watched him, wondering what he'd come up with. Evan's frown deepened with every passing second, before his brain finally overheated and he gave up.

"I don't know! _You_ think of something!" He yelled desperately, throwing the ball hard at Giorgio, inadvertently hitting him in the face.

* * *

"Agent Bruno, you seem to always be wet whenever I see you nowadays. Everything alright in the pool?" Agent Robert Baxter asked, a little worried for his junior.

"We have a very playful mermaid, is all," Giorgio said, trying to tidy his wet hair.

Giorgio had been asking around, trying to see if anyone had any bright ideas about how Evan could make himself useful. Finding a job for Evan would certainly help with his integration into the community as well, so it was in Giorgio's best interest. He had begun by first asking the agents close to him, before the search led to asking those he wasn't familiar with. Eventually, he ended up asking the senior agents.

"I've asked everywhere and I'm at the end of my tether. Heard that you came from the U.S. Navy SEALs, so I thought you might have some idea of what to do in the water. I'd certainly appreciate it if you could come up with somethingーanything," Giorgio said, rubbing his temples as he explained his situation.

"You certainly look like you need a break, Agent Bruno," Robert advised. Even so, he was impressed by how hard Giorgio was working, so he decided to try his best to help. Thinking back about his past experiences in the navy, inspiration struck him.

"Well, I might have the perfect idea."

* * *

 **【Meeting 6】**

"4 minutes and 56 seconds! Too slow! Are you swimming for recreation?!" Robert yelled at Evan as he reached the edge of the swimming pool after swimming a lap.

"Huh?! But that's as fast as I can swim!" Evan complained, getting nowhere near what was expected of him.

The idea that struck Robert was to train Evan so that he could spar with the other VSSE agents in the pool. It would be a good exercise to prepare for sea-related missions. The idea had come when he thought back about how the U.S. had a Navy Marine Mammal Program, where dolphins and sea lions were trained to protect ports and Navy assets.

"If you want to be of help, then you've got to be faster and stronger. We're all elite soldiers here!" Robert reminded him.

"Giorgio, too?" Evan asked curiously, looking very interested.

"Agent Bruno, too! Best in the Italian police force. You'd better aim to get at least as ripped and as fast as he is! Swim another lap!"

"Yessir!" Evan replied excitedly, diving back into the water.

Giorgio walked up to Robert.

"Agent Baxter, thanks. I really appreciate the help," Giorgio said.

"Don't worry about it," Robert said, "Haven't been to the pool for awhile. Reminds me of my training days. Good old times..."

Giorgio smiled at Robert as he reminisced. Evan made it to the other side of the pool, turning around and pushing himself off the pool wall, swimming back elegantly.

"You're certainly putting a lot of effort into helping him, Agent Bruno," Robert commented, "Thought you were more of a loner."

"Well," Giorgio began, "Let's just say that he reminded me of something in the past. There was a time when I was all alone in the world, and then someone stepped in with a helping hand."

"I see..." Robert nodded. He had heard that Giorgio was adopted as a child, although he was unsure of what had befallen his family. He must have drawn some similarities between that and Evan's situation.

"Best of luck to you, then. I'll help with what I can," he said.

* * *

After his first training with Robert, Evan laid half-dead at the edge of the pool. Giorgio knelt next to him, massaging his stiff back.

"Aahhh, that felt _so_ good! Keep pressing that part," Evan groaned with satisfaction. "Sheesh! Do you guys train like that all the time? Bet that was twice as much exercise as what you guys actually do. How mean!"

"Actually, that's just a quarter of the VSSE's daily training for newcomers," Giorgio corrected him. Evan felt as though his soul had left him. Giorgio laughed.

"You'll get better, Evan. Agent Baxter said that you had potential," he said. "By the way, they finished the plans for your private tank awhile back and have started building it. Look forward to it."

Evan smiled back at him, feeling quite grateful.

"Hey, Giorgio."

"...?"

"I just wanna say... thanks... You know, for always being there for me and helping me out," Evan said, turning to face him. "I was so scared of everything when I first came here, but look at how things are nowーI have people I can talk with, play with and train with, as well as people I can call 'friends'. And it's all thanks to you!"

"Oh, come now, you're making it sound bigger than it is," Giorgio said, looking away shyly as he wasn't used to being praised so much. Evan shook his head, eyes shining brightly.

"But that's really how I feel! I won't let your hard work go to wasteーI'll do my best for you!"

Giorgio smiled a little, feeling Evan's strong trust. Guess he'd just have to roll with it.

"Heh, you'd better keep that promise then. I'm looking forward to seeing you getting along perfectly with everyone," he said. Evan nodded with a grin.

Unbeknown to them, someone was lurking in the shadows, keeping a close eye on them.


	3. Part III

**【Meeting 7】**

 _"Everything's going to be okay, my dear Evan. It'll hurt only at the start. Hee hee hee." Dr. Frankenstein's creepy voice seemed to echo eerily in the small and dark operation chamber. The child in front of him struggled in vain._

 _"No. STOP! I don't want any of this!" But no matter how hard Evan protested, his words fell on deaf ears._

 _He was strapped tightly onto the operation table. The scientists around him continued to work with expressionless faces. Strange machines, animal body parts in tubes, as well as various objects that he wasn't familiar with filled the room. He feared for his life._

 _/ **They said that they were going to cut off his legs.** /_

 _"Now, shall we begin?" Dr. Frankenstein grinned. Evan screamed._

* * *

Evan gasped, jolted awake by his nightmare. Losing his balance, he almost drowned himself in the pool.

Getting a hold of himself, he forced himself to be upright again. Pulling his head out of the water, he panted and coughed, gasping for air. Once he had calmed down, he looked around, taking in his surroundings.

He was in the VSSE gym pool. The clock on the wall said that it was 2:30 in the morning. The lights were out and he was alone. No Dr. Frankenstein anywhere to cut off his body parts...

Good.

He sighed in relief, before debating about whether or not he should try to go to sleep again. He was certainly not looking forward to seeing the continuation of his nightmare. Either way, he felt a little tired, so he leaned back onto the surface of the water.

Evan's dolphin tail seemed to have retained its tail kick reflex. It was what the dolphins would use to stay afloat while sleeping, in order to keep their blowholes above the water. Having been kept in a tank for most of his life, Evan had become used to sleeping that way.

He looked at one edge of the pool, where Giorgio had prepared a mattress. In case Evan's tail felt tired and he needed to lie down or something, Giorgio had said. Evan smiled to himself as he remembered Giorgio's kindness. Maybe lying there tonight would give him some better dreams.

But just as he was about to head there, he heard the sound of the room's doors being opened quietly. Surprised, he turned to look, spotting a familiar figure. Clad in a lab coat, it seemed to be Victor.

"Dr. Lavenza...? Evening!" Evan greeted. Victor flinched.

"Oh, Mr. Bernard! You'reー Did I wake you up? Sorry for that," he replied quickly. Evan shook his head.

"Nah, couldn't sleep," Evan explained. "Something I can help you with?" He asked, swimming towards the edge of the pool closest to Victor.

"Well, actually," Victor said, "I found some strange readings in your health checkup this week, so I came to give you some emergency supplements." He walked over to Evan and held out a pill.

"You came all this way at this hour just for me...?!" Evan asked, surprised.

"I always worry over my patients like that," Victor said with a smile.

"Why, thanks!" Evan replied, taking the pill and swallowing it, "Sorry for the trouble."

"Always glad to help," Victor said.

"Heh, I guess I should go back to sleep, huh?" Evan said, yawning. His eyelids were heavy. For some reason, he was suddenly tired. Everything around him spun and it felt as though he could pass out right there and then.

"...?"

"The pill might cause some drowsiness, but I assure you that you'll feel completely refreshed in the morning."

Victor's voice sounded too distant. Evan found that he couldn't fight the urge to sleep any longer, and everything went black.

* * *

When Evan woke up, he found himself strapped to a bed in a huge, clean lab.

The operation lamps that hovered over him shone with a glare that hurt his eyes. He was in the middle of being scanned by a giant machine that arched over the desk. Various scalpels and other ominous-looking tools laid on the table next to the operation bed.

Evan's breathing quickened as he was suddenly seized by fear. He saw Victor behind the computers.

"Dr. Lavenza! Whー Let me go!" He demanded.

"Shit! You're not supposed to be awake yet!" Victor said with surprise, "Guess you really work differently from us, don't you?"

He took a syringe from a nearby table and walked over to Evan. "Nothing to worry about, thoughーI intend to just give you a quick checkup and return you safely to the pool before the sun rises. Now, if you'd go back to sleep..."

Not wanting anyone to touch him, Evan struggled against his restraints, trying to pull away. "No...!"

It was then that the mechanical door of the lab slid open, and Giorgio stepped in angrily.

"Dr. Lavenza! I thought we agreed not to bring Evan into the labs!" He yelled.

"Agent Bruno...?!"

"Guess you missed one of the cameras. Someone saw you and reported it to me. Now, if you'd kindly let Evan go."

Victor gritted his teeth, glaring back at Giorgio.

"Agent Bruno, you must be crazy not to study Mr. Bernard at least once! Just look at him!" He defended himself. "Dr. Frankenstein might have been evil, but the man's a genius. This is certainly a breakthroughーif we can figure out how to replicate it, it will be a huge benefit to mankind! Don't you see?"

Giorgio looked at Evan, who was shivering with fear and doing everything he could to hold himself together. He looked back at Victor.

"Still, you have no right to force Evan to comply with you. Let him go at once!"

"How could you be so blind...?" Victor replied in disbelief. "Heh, if you're going to impede the progress of science, then I guess it can't be helped!"

With that, Victor slammed his hand onto a button of the control panel next to him, locking down the room. Giorgio gasped in surprise. Victor took out his silver handgun and shot at Giorgio. He ducked behind the nearest desk.

"I'll gladly lay my life down if it means contributing to humanity as a whole!" Victor laughed.

"Dr. Lavenza! Stop this at once!" Giorgio yelled over the gunfire.

However, Victor didn't seem to listen to him. Giorgio reached into his coat and pulled out his gun, having come prepared in case something like this happened.

Engaging Victor in a shootout while being careful not to hurt Evan, Giorgio slowly closed in on his opponent, using the tables and machines that laid around him to hide. Once he came close enough, he grabbed Victor, disarming him before wrestling him down to the ground. Victor struggled against his hold in vain.

"It's over!" Giorgio said.

* * *

 **【Meeting 8】**

After the incident in the lab, Evan had been returned to the pool. But the damage was done and he had lost faith.

Despite having heard that Victor had been dealt with accordingly, he didn't feel any better. He refused to see anyone, lashing out and snapping at them angrily when they insisted on having a conversation with him. Furthermore, he refused to eat and stayed at the far end of the pool, even when it was Giorgio visiting him.

Tension built up in the HQ, particularly among the agents who had been directly involved with Evan.

* * *

 **【Meeting 9】**

Being turned down all the time despite Evan's obvious need for help, Giorgio eventually reached a point where he had had enough. He walked to the indoor pool, having made up his mind that he would get Evan to talk with him today.

"Evan," he called out from the edge of the pool.

As usual, Evan made no reply, keeping his back to Giorgio as he stayed at the furthest corner, lightly playing with his beachball by himself. There were some angry scratches along his skin, as if he had been hurting himself. Giorgio spoke up as gently as he could manage.

"You must be starving, so I made you your favourite lasagna today... With extra cheese."

No reply.

Giorgio sighed. He took off his coat and set it aside, before jumping into the pool and swimming towards Evan. When he neared him, Evan made to swim away. Giorgio caught him by the wrist.

"Let go," Evan said. Rather than fear or anger, there was a deep sadness in his voice.

"Please..." He begged. He had no energy left to retaliate. He wanted to cry.

But instead of letting him go, Giorgio pulled him close and held him.

"...?"

"Evan, sorry that you had to go through all that. I should've been more careful," Giorgio said, "It must have been scary, but after everything you went through, I don't want you to have to fight everything by yourself again. Please, remember that we're here for you."

"Giorgio..."

There was deep concern in Giorgio's voice. From the corner of his eye, Evan could see Alan, Wesley and Robert peeking in worriedly from outside the door. They quickly hid away the moment he spotted them, not wanting to scare him. Even so, it was clear that they had all gathered here out of worry.

To think that he had pushed them all away after everything they had done for him... Tears welled up in Evan's eyes.

"Giorgio...!"

He held onto Giorgio, crying into his shoulder, apologizing and telling him that none of it was his fault.

"Sorry for causing trouble and worrying you all the time! I just wanted to say that I'm so thankful to have such wonderful friends," Evan sobbed, "Thank you!"

Giorgio sighed in relief, smiling as he patted Evan on the back. He looked at the other agents, who had returned to peeking into the room. They gave him a thumbs up.

* * *

 **【Meeting 10】**

After everything had settled down, the construction of the private tank had finally finished and Evan had been moved there.

The tank had been placed on one of the higher floors of the VSSE HQ, having the size of a huge swimming pool to give him enough room to move around. Plants and rocks had been placed beautifully inside the tank to give it a pleasing look, along with several items that Evan could use for training and exercise. One wall of the tank had been made to be a one-way mirror, which would allow Evan to see the cityscape below if he turned off the room's lights. Giorgio visited to see how he was doing in his new home.

"Looks comfortable enough. Hope you're not afraid of heights," Giorgio teased.

"Oh, please, Giorgio!" Evan laughed, looking down at Giorgio as he leaned against the edge of the tank's open top. "If I had legs, I'd probably work on top of skyscrapers or something. Cities always look charming to me."

Giorgio chuckled, glad that things seemed to have gone well.

"So... How are things? What do I do from now?" Evan asked. Giorgio thought for a moment, organizing the recent events in his mind and gathering his points.

"Well, you've been training with Agent Baxter and improving quickly. He said that he wanted you to help him train the newcomers in future. I hope you don't mind being moved back and forth between your tank and the pool."

"Of course not!" Evan grinned. "I'll do my best to reach his expectations!"

"Good to hear that," Giorgio replied happily, "On the other hand, the Director has also taken an interest in you. He said that if Agent Baxter decides that you're fit for it, he might want you to aid us with our missions at seaーof course, all while making sure that no one ever sees you. We work in secret, after all. I thought of asking you about that."

"..." Evan's eyes widened as he heard about the new possibilities.

"So, Evan, would you be interested in joining the VSSE to help us keep world peace?" Giorgio asked.

For Evan, it wasn't even a question. He answered immediately, feeling as though he had been welcomed into his new family with open arms.

"Of course!"

"Heh, looking forward to working with you then, Agent Bernard."

 **【END】**

* * *

 **【Trivia Collection】**

\- Since we're artificially creating Merman!Evan by merging, my brain connected it to Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', so I nabbed several things from there XDDD

Dr. Frankenstein & Victor → Victor Frankenstein (The protagonist in 'Frankenstein')  
Lavenza → Elizabeth Lavenza (Victor Frankenstein's wife)  
Geneva, Switzerland → It's where Mary Shelley's story took place.

\- Went with bottlenose dolphins because they're the friendliest and easiest to research about. My second choice would probably be a common dolphin since they have this nice pattern that makes them look stylish OuO  
Considered killer whales too, but they're too huge and probably didn't fit Evan's personality.

\- This is my first fic where I focus on character relationship. (I normally focus on writing action-driven plots).  
Wrote this whole thing while keeping Persona's Social Links and Dangan Ronpa's free time events in mind. You know, that part of the game where you just approach your friends and try to build a relationship with them :p

\- Originally thought of a tragic ending where Giorgio discovered that Evan's estimated lifespan was 25 years, so the story would be about how he worked hard to make Evan's last year the happiest in his life.  
Discarded the idea because it was too depressing =u=;;

\- Asked June what she would have done if she was the one handling this 'human experimentation mermaid AU'.  
She said that she'd have stuck to the evil mythological mermaids and gone 100% in the horror direction, pushing on mismatched body parts, strange behavior and all, so no pretty mermaids!  
(Which made my fic relatively super happy compared to her imagination. I think a horror mermaid AU would've been fun too, though. Have fun imagining it XDD)

* * *

Extra about Dr. Frankenstein and Victor's backstories if you're interested. Just a rough guide and things that I kept in mind as I wrote them XD  
*proceeds to make them as messed up as possible*

Dr. Frankenstein:

\- Loves reading novels and studying about mythology, despite being a man of science.  
\- Thinks that science is a powerful tool that can make a god out of menーthe tool that can be used to mold the world exactly as he wants it.  
\- Works to prove that hypothesis.  
\- Very nice to children and thinks that he's doing them a favor by letting them into a world where fantasy becomes reality.  
\- Sees the kidnapped children as his own kids and is actually sad when they die or get hurt due to failures in his experiment.  
\- Is secretly a pedo.

Victor:

\- After his wife died from an incurable disease, he became a doctor and promised that he'd devote his entire life to the progress of science and medicine, not wanting other people to suffer as much grief as he did.  
\- Normally has a gentle temperament and worries for his patients, blaming himself if anything goes wrong during a treatment.  
\- Tends to get a little too excited at new discoveries and will go to any lengths to pursue progress.

Special thanks to June Ellie for the setting idea and for beta reading!  
Thanks for reading, everyone~ ^3^


End file.
